February 29, 2024 Bali, Indonesia 67 days left of 138

Happy leap Day! This is our second day in Bali. We have an excursion planned that will take us out of Denpasar which is a large town near Benoa Harbour, and up into the mountains to the rice terraces. Once out of the city the towns looked better cared for, and the traffic was much less busy. This is day two of the 10 day religious holiday being celebrated. 

This is a tourist spot. If you see the large birds nest to the right it was a site you could take pictures, they also had a heart, and swings that would swing you out over the valley. You could also rent a flowing dress to make your picture more dramatic. One of the ladies traveling with us wanted to do it, but our guide stated Viking was asking anyone over 60 to not get on the swings due to safety concerns. The other spots if you took pictures, they had someone collecting for the pictures taken.                                                                                                                                              

Kopi luwak is coffee made from coffee cherries that have been eaten, digested and defecated by the Asian Palm Civet, a small mammal that looks like a cross between a cat and a raccoon. The beans are then cleaned and processed. It is considered the rarest coffee and is very expensive. Above is a statue of the Asian Palm Civet and friends. They were selling Kopi luwak coffee at the deli, and it was $6.00 for a cup. Here that is about 3 times the price of regular coffee.

Above is Jack fruit growing at the area we were taking our pictures.

We took a detour to see the area known as Monkey Forest. We did not have time to visit, but it is a 4 acres area that backs up to Ubud. They have to watch what they have out in the block that faces the Monkey Forest as the monkeys will come and steal food, so no food carts or restaurants were in these blocks. The monkeys will also swipe shiny things, so this was a lot of dresses, batik cloths, larger souvenirs shops. There are many places you have to watch out for the monkeys. Next stop is a Temple Museum and coffee shop. They love their coffee here in Bali. We will also be in the heart of Ubud which is an upscale town with markets, and shopping.

We had an hour before we needed to be back to the bus, so we were walking the street. Mike had been predicting that we might have rain. He was not kidding. It did not seem to phase the people riding the scooters as they all have rain ponchos and they just pulled them out and kept going. We on the other hand stayed under an awning waiting for someone to turn the faucet off.

I wish you could see the puddles in the sidewalk, or the ankle deep water the cars were driving through and throwing up on anyone walking on the sidewalk. One of the other Viking tourists came walking by our location lost as he was looking for the buses which were behind him. He stood with us for a while. After about 20 minutes I thought it looked like the rain was letting up, so we decided to head for the bus. I was bring up the rear when a mother with a large suitcase, umbrella, shopping bag, and about a 3 year old son got between us. Mom walked through a puddle, and the son was not going to do it. I watched this for a little bit, and I just picked him up and carried him across the puddle. Mom was very thankful. The next puddle we came to was larger and I was turning into the bus park. The mom and son also turned in and decided a taxi would get them where they were going.

I tried to take pictures to show you what the traffic looks like as we were in the front seats of the bus. The pictures just did not do it justice. Suffice it to say if there had been a camera on my face it would have won Funniest Home videos. There is a center line that no one follows. The scooters and motor bikes are weaving in and out of traffic, right beside and in front of the bus. The traffic weaves across the line to pass parked cars, people going the wrong way on the wrong side of the road, the motor bikes will speed past and pull in the the traffic at the last second to allow larger vehicles access to their side of the road. Some one said it was a well choreographed accident waiting to happen. I was just thankful when I didn't have to experience the fear for everyone traveling the road with us. Our bus driver seemed to show no emotion to the chaos surrounding his bus. Whew we were home. Here are pictures I took while traveling home.

Supiyasa our guide told us we could call him Supi. He was such a sweet man. He was sharing his love for his country, religion and people. He did an amazing job, and always with a smile on his face.

We ended our night on board for Dancing under the stars. This is near the indoor out door pool. They had the ceiling open so the temperature was tolerable. Everyone was ready to party.

 

February 28, 2024 Bali, Indonesia Day 70 of 138 68 days to go

 Today it feels like we are really traveling in foreign lands. Looking outside it looks different, it smells different, and feels different. This is what it looks like from the ship.

This fisherman was way out in the ocean, aways away

 from the city. Notice no motor.

We went on our tour first to a market. The market will not have much open as this is a Hindu religious  holiday, sort of their New Year and most stalls will be closed. The market is 4 stories of small shops. The escalator we used was not working, so thank God we only did one floor. Not everyone on the tour could do more.

During our tour, we noticed something scurrying around looking for a free handout. You can see a rats below, this is just one of the many we saw. Us small town people are not used to this. I was really glad I had on my tennis shoes.

One of our friends went to use the toilet, and saw two of them, he also got pictures. Mike could not get out of there fast enough. This was the area around the market.

This is a city of 800,000 people. This is our first time to see people living in homes that show no recent renovation. Things look sad and in poor repair. The people though look clean, neat and happy. The tourist, unfortunately look hot, and shocked in the reality of life in big inner city Bali.

Next stop is a Hindu temple. Mike and John were given these sarongs to cover their knees. Women needed their shoulders and knees covered. The sarongs were available to anyone that needed coverage. The Temples are very well cared for. 

This gate was finished in 1960. The rest of the Temple was much older. 

The temple, and area around the temple were well cared for. This is a place they value, and is an important part of their life. Below was the area for the musical instruments. Music and dance are part of the worship.

This man photo bombed my picture. I thought I could remove him, but sadly I could not.

They have many traditional dances, and the costumes to go with each dance. Youngsters start learning the dances and music as early as 3 years old. Religion is an important part of their everyday life.

Everything in their art and temples deals with how they believe that they need to celebrate the head, body and earth of their God. Their belief is the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation.

There are many types of statues and religious signs everywhere you look.

Traffic is crazy. Most people ride motorcycle, whole families on one bike. Notice the woman riding side saddle. The person on back may be carrying something in her hands while the driver is weaving in and out of traffic, going between cars, I am impressed. These pictures show everyone wearing a helmet, but in reality there are many who are not wearing helmets, or the adults will have helmets, and the small children on the front or middle are without helmets.

Here is one example of a street vendor. I did not have time to see what he was selling, but the small cart is easy to move about and park.

There are multiple temples in every town and city. The main Temple is suppose to be the tallest, and it goes down from there depending on level of importance.

Below is pictures of inside the Temple. The people are dressed in white tops, notice the father and young boy with their white head covering. The people under the white canopy are attending a prayer service. The second picture shows a family who are putting an offering into the water. Notice the white and yellow decorations in the pictures. The white signifies purity, and the yellow holiness.

There are many people selling fans, batik sarongs, and wood items. In Bali it is ok and encouraged to barter for items. The people are aggressive. I had a picture of a woman with the fabric on her head, and showing fabric. It was beautiful and I did buy some before we left.

We had a Destination performance tonight. The music was traditional, very loud and shrill. It hurt my ears, so I spent the evening with my fingers in my ears, then I was able to enjoy it. The dancers performed traditional dances that are done in their temples on special days. Their costumes and make up were dramatic.